How do you tell a story?
First sentence: “The man arrived after morning prayers.”
The first paragraph goes on to paint the scene of that morning. “The man waited, and the boys watched…”
The second paragraph drops back to explain: “Men often came for children.” There were some more likely to be chosen. There were others more likely to be passed over. “Ren was one of them.”
The third paragraph continues: “He had no memory of a beginning…”
If you want to read a good story, The Good Thief, by Hannah Tinti, is the book for you. It is a solid, old-fashioned story–as in, something happens and then something else and then something else. On Monday night, it won the 2008 John Sargent, Sr. First Novel Prize.
In a New York Times review, The Good Thief was described as “an American Dickensian tale with touches of Harry Potterish whimsy, along with a macabre streak of spooky New England history.”
I couldn’t put it down.
